How to become the next top social media influencer

Wazzup Pilipinas!

How do we become effective influencers? Even the interests about the most sensationalized and highly funded with PR campaigns personalities do experience a slow down in their online prominence especially when there's fresh faces or more controversial issues. We can't forever depend on our charm or our PR team to forever keep us trending on social or mainstream media.

Though, we could start out good, try our best to sustain the momentum, and hope we continue to be iconic eventhough there are a lot of equally interesting eyecandies or eyesores out there.

Here's just some tips I gathered from the Internet, and I do believe they are reliable enough for us to follow:

Capture attention immediately. With content that surprises and intrigues early on, brands have the opportunity to plunge viewers straight into the story, getting them to stop and engage instead of skipping.

Be truly helpful. To stand out in a sea of ads, brands might want to consider creating helpful content that meets these new consumer needs. If you can teach and inspire audiences, they won’t just watch — they’ll become loyal, long-term advocates of your brand.

Relate, relate, relate. Being relevant to people’s personal interests is perhaps the most important thing. Relating to their passions is more important than whether content features famous actors or has high production quality. When you can frame your brand in the context of things people care about, it drives results.

Collaborating with creators. It is a high-impact way to reach engaged audiences, where you can also reach customers by serving ads alongside the creators' channel.

Encourage action. Strong creative that has an enticing call to action and makes it easy to take the next step.

Embrace your shortcomings. We're not perfect so acknowledging and accepting our weaknesses could prove to be more beneficial than denying our faults. People do appreciate humility. One of the best example is Harry Roque who posted and captioned his own memes. Kim Chiu who listened to how she should make use of all the "Bawal Lumabas" highlighting her "lutang" moments to come out with a celebrated novelty song, and many more.

Whatever your strategy is, it's all about branding and relationship. You either have to stand out among the rest, or have a great network of supporters and followers that will boost your online presence. Naturally, it's better if you have both.

Most of the time, your fans or bashers contribute to your fame or infamy. Those memes created about a most hated government official could turn favorable for him especially if he jumps into the bandwagon to laugh at himself too...instead of ranting against his bashers, he plays with them.

But still, people often get bored with the same concepts and personalities if you do not innovate and variate from the norm or your usual antics. You also have to evolve with the times.

There's Mary Grace Escober who went viral and immediately got 100k subscribers overnight after celebrating her 2 subscribers on YouTube as posted on social media. It only proves we could make use of these platforms to uplift anybody since we do join bandwagons and our hearts appreciate even the littlest show of dedication towards our passion. There may be times when we use this power irresponsibly to break down others, but here's to always hoping we do more good even for those we detest.

Books Versus Social Media Seryes

Wazzup Pilipinas!

They say the most read book in the world is the Bible. Religious & inspirational books are the most popular non-fiction genre, 

But for the fiction genre, it's Romance and Erotica that make the most money worldwide

The pandemic has however changed how people buy books

Books about travel, foreign languages, and business are on a downward trend

While gardening and eco-friendly domestic activities are soaring

A solid increase in the cooking category, since everyone is clearly making end meet and making "bread" is a necessity

Children's educational books are in high demand as parents have moved en masse to home schooling

Without any doubt, minus the affluent who have an abundance of funds and resources, the common people are really turning towards how to make themselves more self-sufficient

What is not changing is how Filipinos are still most active on social media. Facebook and YouTube are currently the most popular social media platforms in the country with Filipinos spending nearly four hours online or more on social media. They would even say we've all become critics, media, and "analysts" eventhough we are not experts as per our profession, have no formal training or education on the subject matter, and are not "well-informed" of all the facts on any of the issues we are commenting on.

That means we are the most "engaged" online.  ...with the biggest engagement with topics revolving around sex and half-naked men or women flaunting their abs and cleavages respectively or showcasing their dancing prowess while wearing similarly teaseful outfits, showbiz and entertainment stories, more specifically on rumors and scandals about celebrities, the fandom fanaticism that are also keyboard warriors that could make their idols go viral, similarly like the supporters of politicians that has forever stained politics as cultured for corruption, stories with human elements (we do gang up together to either praise and help out, or bash and make lives miserable.... even if we're aware that everyone could be watching....are closely following or equally on the lead.

And the most striking is how creative we are in terms of expressing our opinions and sentiments. Aside from directly criticizing, we use sarcasm, or add humor to the situation via laughable memes, witty words, and other reactions done through photos and videos.

No wonder foreign content creators even go to the Philippines to create their stories here... especially when we look up to other races, well...probably excluding those from China, as if they're celebrities in the Philippines.

We are amazingly uninhibited social creatures roaming around the Internet as if looking for our next prey or pray over.

This is why we are plagued with the so called "fake news" or misinformation...either intentionally or unintentional since there are no formal fact-checkers that would verify the accuracy of every existing content published online.

So would you think books for sale, either as e-books or in its printed form, still have a fighting chance to be picked up now that a lot of those capable to purchase books have the ultimate access to information via their Internet-and-social-media -powered mobile phones?

I still remember when my father bought a lot of books at a garage sale. Many of those he brought home were written by Western authors all featuring non-Pinoy stories and characters. I loved each and everyone of those books for the different niches they offer, but I grew fond of those visually appealing and graphical ones.

It was probably the reason that as I grew up, I loved every opportunity of getting access to comic books and graphical magazines featuring pop culture, but equally adored only "worded" titles that took me into another love for fancy words. Those that use hifalutin words prompted me to buy a lexicon to get the synonyms of common words to write my own stories that would make me sound smart when you read it. 

It gave me the interest to join the school and church newspaper as either illustrator or writer. Yup, aside from reading, writing, I also got the itch to draw.... especially when television also made those robot cartoons or animes popular. I made up and drew my own characters and stories.

And eventhough I took up and graduated with an engineering course and took an Information Technology career path due to statements like there's no money in art, I somehow still ended up doing my first love - content creation.

Taking in rabbits as pets to use their poop as fertilizers

Wazzup Pilipinas!

An urban gardening group recently gave the idea of taking care of rabbit in an attempt to make his own fertilizer with their poop, because apparently, rabbit droppings can be used like vermicasts!

He said he prefers cute and cuddly bunnies than taking care of those wiggling earthworms. Plus rabbits eat grass nonstop, so all the grass growing between his plants are slowly being obliterated by his pets.

He gives them weeds (not the fun kind), they give him poop,and the poop gives nutrients to his plants! 

Imagine when a neighbor saw him spreading the compost one day and he said "Ganda ng gulay, noh? TAE NG RABBIT ANG PAMPATABA DYAN." Lol!

Needless to say, another person will NOT be  asking veggies from him anytime soon. 

Benefits of Rabbits

Rabbit fecal matter and their leftover (dried) grass make for good compost material.

One said "I compost the bunny poop. Bali may litter box sila na may kusot at hay/grass then after a day kinukuha ko lahat yun as in droppings, hay, kusot then lagay lang sa compost bin tapos ayun na gagamitin ko for compost."

But according to one owner,the little poop balls can also be used fresh and used to topdress the soil. Literally 0 effort with maximum payoff. Bunny manure doesn't necessarily need to be composted to work as fertilizer.

They can also be bred for protein if you choose meaty breeds. Overall rabbits are a good addition to any food self-sufficiency plan.

Caring for Your Rabbits

"Some people go for small pets like hamsters/guinea pigs/rabbits kasi kala nila madaling alagaan pero they're just as needy or needier than dogs. As in sobrang baby nila. They will depend on you 100%. Ni ayaw nila sa malalakas na tunog kasi inaatake sila sa puso."

"Kung may sufficient space po kayo at may good amount of grass supply, go for the meat type para habang ginagamay nyo pa yung pag-aalaga sa kanila,mamatay man,hindi sya masakit sa bulsa. Pero kung tingin nyo naman po you can care for fancier types then you can do that too."

"Marami po silang bawal kainin kaya dapat iresearch muna bago mag adopt or bumili. Bawal sa kanila yung mga carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, etc. Mga sugars bawal din at mga yogurt. Dapat 80% grass/hay tapos 15% pellets at 5% herbs/veggies like basil and lettuce pero sobrang konti lang dapat."

And I thought they love carrots like Bugs Bunny. They prefer bananas than carrots. Lol. So probably the monkeys are the carrot lovers?

"Also they need enough water dapat dahil para din silang small dogs. Proper housing din po kasi mahilig sila tumakbo tsaka energetic sila so opt for large crates at pens area na at 4x4 ft."

"....1 rabbit per cage/area after 3 months kasi by 3 to 4 months mag uumpisa na magkasta si boy rabbit at hindi pa ready si girl non. Also I suggest spay/neuter lalo na kung di naman sila for breeding purposes."

"Sa cage din po or pen dapat nililinis araw araw para hindi sila bumaho."

"BAWAL SILA PALIGUAN OR BASAIN. Madali po sila magka hypothermia. Mamamatay agad sila pag gininaw. Same with heat. Dapat sakto lang yung temperature nila. Hindi sobrang init at sobrang lamig."

Some concessions the rabbit owner made since getting them:

1. Di na ko gumagamit ng speakers ko. Headphones na lang or phone speakers. 

2. Rigid morning and night routine. 6 am lalabas sila sa crate nila tapos linis na at disinfect ng food and water bowls at mismong crate nila. Palit ng litter box,harvest ng grass at banana leaves pati herbs, timbang ng pellets,etc. 

3. 8 am kakain sila at iinom then maglalaro na yan until night then by 10 pm dapat ready na yung crate nila para tulugan then linis ng mga kinalat nila. 

4. No dogs dito sa taas so mga aso ko nasa baba na lang lagi.

Also RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. They can live up to 15-16 years kaya sobrang habang commitment nya. Pero for me they're really nice to have around. Napakadocile, napakabait,at napakatahimik lang nilang kasama.

If you haven't owned a rabbit yet it would help to do a bit of research and talk to rabbit owners to check if you're ready for the commitment. 

Kung wala ka naman balak mag breed, ok na yung isang rabbit lang. Kung ang purpose lang is to have a pet tsaka fertilizer, parang hindi cost efficient pag madaming rabbit. Medyo magastos din kasi lalo kung konti lang source mo ng damo. 90% ng diet nila is grass as in almost whole day sila kumakain ng grass. Even grass growing on two 50 liter containers won’t grow fast enough for you to rely on it solely for food of the rabbit so you still have to buy hay and pellets. 

Preventing Your Rabbits to Multiply

Highly recommended to spay and neuter. If you can't find a an animal specialist, your original pair of rabbits will balloon into 20 in just a few months.

3 to 4 months, a rabbit buck is ready to mate, so if you don't want them to multiply, divide them into separate cages.

Though rabbit kits are cute, when they grow up, good luck in taking care of them.

You can ask vets to neuter your rabbits so you don't end up with too many when they mate. They'll be less stressed too.

But having 20 of them means an abundance of poop and feed for fertilizer.

Be careful of how much you use though. If you miscalculate the amount of poop you use as fertilizer, you'll end up getting mealybugs because they apparently love nitrogen... which rabbit poop is full of.

But your veggie harvests will be healthy and would taste great.

Cost of Rabbits

Lionlop and Teddy Lionhead are a bit expensive. The cheaper ones are local New Zealand breeds. Those ranges around 600 per pair.

There are a number of rabbit breeders in Metro Manila but be careful where to buy them because there are a lot of irresponsible breeders that sell even sick or weak ones.

Look at their enclosure where they are kept. If its pure wire mesh, you'll know that those rabbits are irresponsibly bred. Rabbits should have a lot of space and at least clean area with flat space where they can sleep.

Picking a Pair

Let the breeder guide you which ones are siblings and not, just in case unwated mating would lead to inbreeding. 

"Kung kaya nyo pong bisitahin sila mismo, i highly suggest that. Kasi ako po mas prefer ko nung una yung orange because of the lop ears pero ngayon I am vibing with the blue tort colored rabbit. Kumbaga parang kailangan mo makita in person kung mailap ba sila, aggressive ba,or docile. Ganern!"

Guinea Pigs Instead of Rabbits

One farmer in Benguet uses guinea pigs. Cutest bunch of fertilizer makers. You hear them squeak when they smell that the farmer is near. 

They do resemble rabbits but smaller, but some would look at them as mouse or rats but cuter.

Adopt Don't Shop

You might also want to consider to #adoptdontshop! There are guinea pigs up for adoption at Guinea Pig Shelter PH. For bunnies for adoption, try contacting Rabbit Awareness Philippines.